28. True Calling
Prompt: "I think you missed your calling."
Setting: University AU
Genre: Fluff.
1,000 Words
Ichigo stretched as he left the lecture hall, glad that today's lessons were finally over. He dug his phone out of his pocket to see if he had any new messages, but no notification icons showed on the screen. Ichigo frowned. He'd texted Rukia hours ago, and though her replies weren't always prompt, it had never taken her this long to get back to him. Maybe her battery had died? Though, come to think of it, Ichigo hadn't seen her in the cafeteria at lunch, either. Maybe she was having a busy day?
Ichigo scowled to himself. She wouldn't have skipped school, he was pretty sure of that. There were a few students in his year who'd barely showed their faces at lectures, but Rukia was nothing like them; she was more diligent than Ichigo himself.
Oh well, time to get going. Even though the classes were over, and even though Rukia wasn't replying to his messages, Ichigo knew where to find her.
He slung his bag over his shoulder, grunting at its weight, and headed towards the side buildings reserved for club activities. He could hear the gruff shouts from metres away, and hesitated only for a second before stepping into the dojo. Hovering awkwardly in the doorway, he scanned the crowd of students diligently practising their kata, but did not spot Rukia's petite form.
"Looking for Kuchiki?" Abarai Renji called from across the room. Though Abarai was his senpai and studied at a different faculty, Ichigo knew him – he was Rukia's old classmate from high school.
"Yeah," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his head. "She loaned me a few of her old text books and I promised to return them by tomorrow."
"She's probably forgotten," Abarai shrugged. "She wasn't feeling well yesterday, she left half-way through practice. Haven't seen her at all today; I guess she's at home, resting."
"All right. Thanks, Abarai."
Ichigo left the dojo and weighed his options. On one hand, he wanted to return the books to her today, he'd already been lugging them around all day long. Besides, he was a bit worried about Rukia. But he wasn't sure how she would react if he showed up on her doorstep without a warning. There was a chance she'd slam the door to his face.
Ichigo dug out his phone again and found Rukia from his list of contacts. At first he got the dialling tone, then a recorded, monotone female voice spoke up with: "The number you were trying to reach…"
Ichigo hung up. Yup, Rukia's phone battery was dead and buried.
He squared his shoulders. He had little desire to face an irritated Rukia, but given the situation, that was a risk he had to take.
The trip wasn't long; Rukia's apartment building was only a few stops away from the campus, though Ichigo did make a slight detour to a pharmacy he saw near the station. Even though Rukia probably kept her medicine cabinet well-stocked, it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, he didn't want to show up empty-handed.
His nervousness grew as he reached Rukia's building. His stomach gave a few queasy flops as he rode up the elevator. By the time his finger was actually hovering over the doorbell of Rukia's apartment, his whole upper body had tensed.
He gritted his teeth and bit the bullet, pressing the button.
The wait did nothing to alleviate his nerves and he shuffled his feet, his ears straining to capture any sounds from inside the apartment. Finally he heard a faint scuffling and then the door cracked open, revealing a pale and groggy Rukia.
She rubbed her eyes and then blinked owlishly at him. "Ichigo? What're you doing here?"
"I went to look for you at the kendo club and Abarai said you weren't feeling well."
"All right," Rukia leaned against the doorframe, "though that still doesn't explain why you're here."
"I've got your text books," he said. "And I wanted to see if you were all right," he added.
"I'm fine," Rukia replied, but the next moment a coughing fit nearly doubled her over.
"Sure you are," Ichigo grunted. He grabbed a hold of her slim wrist and pushed past her into the apartment.
"Oi!" Rukia protested, as he dragged her along, but the fact that she didn't struggle against his hold told Ichigo just how weak she was feeling.
"You need to get back to bed and rest," Ichigo grumbled.
"I get it, I'm going, okay? Let go, you big idiot!"
Ichigo released her and Rukia walked into her bedroom in a huff, though the slight wobble of her steps ruined her show of indignation. Ichigo shook his head and went to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
A moment later, he stood at the door of Rukia's room, his hands full with a mug of steaming tea and the shopping bag from the pharmacy.
"I'm coming in," he announced.
"Whatever," came her mumbled reply from inside.
Ichigo walked in and carefully navigated across the small bedroom.
"I made tea for you," he said, setting the mug down on her nightstand. She cracked one eye open and peered up at him. Ichigo started to rummage through the shopping bag to distract himself from feeling so out of place in a girl's bedroom.
"I got you pain killers and cough drops. And cold medicine. …Have you eaten already? Should I go get some food?"
Rukia laughed, though another coughing fit soon cut through her giggles.
"I told you I'm fine," she sighed, "stop being such a worrywart. You're the one who barged in so just sit down and keep me company."
He scowled. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"
"I'm sure you'd make an excellent nurse," she said, her hoarse voice gaining a teasing edge. "Maybe you should switch majors from education to medicine."
Ichigo harrumphed and sat on the floor by Rukia's bed, hoping that his blush wouldn't be noticeable in the dim room.
